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A New Zealand Herald Commercial Publication

PROVINCIAL GAIN EMPTY NESTERS DOWNSIZE

Thursday, June 19, 2014

All of Ryman’s friendly villages include stunning independent living, beautiful ser viced apartments and the very best of resthome care. Many of our villages also provide hospital and dementia care - often there is no need to move from the village if extra care is required.

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Contents PROVINCIAL GAIN

CLEAN OUT THOSE TEAR DUCTS

TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE PLUS AT YOUR EXPO

A SCOTLAND AND IRELAND OF DREAMS

BOOMERS AND THEIR BUCKET LISTS

FIT OVER FIFTY THE DOWNSIZING DECISION

The Auckland Retirement Lifestyle & Travel Expo 2014 returns to Auckland at the Ellerslie Events Centre (Ellerslie Racecourse) over the weekend of 28-29 June.

This exhibition of the best products, services, travel and seminars for retirees, baby boomers, carers and their families, has something for everyone.

“Travel and tours are a big part of this years show” says co-organiser Brian Peters.

“The types of travel will cater for this audience, those of various ages who are looking for something active or more sedate, with show-only specials, all under one-roof” he says.

Age is just a number these days and the Auckland Retirement Lifestyle & Travel Expo is all about enjoying life, with a sense of fun and well-being in your golden years.

The free seminar program will cover all those needs, which include protecting your assets, nutrition and eating well, investing wisely, learning technology and latest gadgets.

Plan for tomorrow while enjoying today at your lifestyle expo. There is something for everyone and every age on show, from home and garden to health and nutrition.

Visit www.retirementlifestyleexpo.co.nz

EDITOR Greg Fleming WRITER Paul Charman DESIGNER Xanthe Williams COVER SHOT John Borren Advertising enquiries please contact HIMANSHU SHAH on 09 373 6975 / 021 870 372 HIMANSHU.SHAH@APN.CO.NZ

A New Zealand Herald Commercial Publication

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04

Paul Charman looks at the risks and advantages of retirees cashing up and moving to the provinces

After making a handsome capital gain on their Auckland home, Kevin and Wendy Hoare have downsized and moved to Tauranga.

Photo: John Borren.

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A

uckland may have one of the world’s most inflated property markets but as retirement looms, that’s great news for Baby Boomers.

Queen City residents who own their own homes, or have plenty of equity in them, do well out of cashing-in and shifting to the provinces.

Re-establishing similar homes mean they can come out of the transaction with buckets of spare cash to enjoy.

But beware. All agree playing “the relocation card” later in life will generally be a oncer. Moving back to Auckland can be almost impossible if you’re retired, or close to it. Certainly there’ll be relocation sacrifices for those who shift away from family, work opportunities and recreational pursuits. But consider the tantalising benefits.

Depending on your home, or more to the point your suburb, relocating is likely to result in free-holding a newer home, or one of better quality, while banking several hundred thousand dollars.

For decades Auckland retirees have cashed-in and headed for the likes of Tauranga, Taupo and KeriKeri, while less “resorty”, though better established “bolt holes” include Hamilton, Rotorua, Napier, New Plymouth, Wanganui and even Palmerston North.

Some relocate to beloved holiday homes, lured by proximity to great fishing spots or golf courses, the likes of Coromandel and Mangawhai Heads.

Isolated villages can lose their shine when an ageing Baby Boomer develops health problems and ends up with a lengthy drive to access health services. But think of your options in those provincial centres.

The better established cities certainly have sporting stadiums, art galleries, museums and retail facilities to rival Auckland. Heartland regions may lack a Hauraki Gulf, but can boast idyllic bush or farming scenery, vineyards, or access to mountains, coastlines, lakes and rivers.

And, though it might surprise Aucklanders, there are excellent

cafes, restaurants, theatres and music venues in provincial cities.

Traffic woes are less, the air purer, the people less stressed and medical centres/hospitals just as good, or better.

What’s more, flush with cash, you’ll be able to help out the kids, travel the world or set up long dreamed-of business ventures, perhaps putting to work a lifetime of experience.

Or, you might want to sit back in your new town, enjoying a substantial bank balance.

Of course, not all relocaters are looking forward to whimsical lifestyles. Simple adversity forces some Aucklanders to cash-in and move out, just to provide some semblance of security in retirement.

Remember, about 240,000 Kiwis are still down about $3.1 billion, following the post-2006 finance company collapses. Veteran real estate commentator Jeff Cate, of Barfoot and Thompson, recommends older relocaters think everything through carefully and proceed with caution.

You’ll seldom gain much from a transaction which involves selling a three-bedroom home, if your plan is to purchase a modern apartment in the same Auckland suburb, he points out.

“My friends Barry and Heather Hickey sold the family home of 22 years in Liley Place, Remuera, and bought a Saltus apartment in Stonefields, off the plans. At the time of the decision the apartment was virtually the same value ($850,000), but the Auckland market moved during the two-year construction period. You can’t always time the market this well, but the result was their home increased in value by $200k and the apartment possibly by $100k.

“They really love the community of Stonefields and their new apartment which is very handy to their daughter and grand kids.”

He admits that an Auckland home owner does well, selling a home for $1 million home and buying one of similar quality, for half that amount (or less) in a provincial town.

“But don’t forget you must have a

viable lifestyle in the new place you live. What’s the good of sitting home alone, if all your going to miss family and friends back in Auckland.

I think money is only about 25 per cent of the equation when it comes to where you live.”

He points out part time work is easiest to find in the place you have contacts.

“Suppose you have a part time job bringing in $20,000 a year to help make ends meet. A job like that can be like a gold mine for a retired person, not only helping them to feel involved (in life), but equalling the interest on having $400,000 in the bank. Part time jobs tend not to be

but there’s a bit of a story to that.

The couple did the sums and realised they’d need additional funds to finance their retirement. Also, having seen fees rise each year for four years, they were fed up with the body corporate which administered their town house community.

Initially it was Wendy pushing to leave the city, as Kevin — a long-serving track and field coach at the North Harbour Bays Athletics Club — was reluctant to leave the big smoke.

Wendy’s online searches took them to inspect properties in Waiheke Island and Warkworth, but something gelled when they visited a new development dear Bethlehem, in Tauranga.

“Relocating is likely to result in free-holding a newer home, or one of better quality, while banking several hundred thousand dollars” given easily to older people, so if you have one in the big city don’t count on finding the equivalent in a town where you have fewer contacts.”

But Jeff knows couples who’ve made a fist of relocating away from Auckland.

His friends Kevin and Wendy Hoare sold their three-bedroom town house in Schnapper Rock, Albany last year, and built a two-bedroom/ two bathroom home near Bethlehem, in Tauranga, a few months later.

The new house/land package cost $380,000, including paths, driveways and the stipulated railwaysleeper raised gardens. Kevin and Wendy made a handsome capital gain on their old home, which they’ve invested to enjoy a decent retirement.

They don’t regret leaving Auckland,

When they built a new home there they couldn’t quite believe what they got for the money.

Wendy says the new home is near perfect for the couple’s needs and the relocation enabled them to put aside “a huge amount” for their retirement. She particularly enjoys the fact that it’s a mere matter of minutes to drive to anywhere in Tauranga or the Mount.

“We like our neighbours and feel safe and secure in our new life.

Astonishingly, we also discovered that our annual car insurance bill is about $300 a year cheaper here”.

Kevin says Tauranga is beautiful, as there seems to be water views on every side. He feels as if he’s on holiday every day, and though quite content in retirement, plans to do a little parttime sports coaching as a volunteer.

Ellerslie Event Centre, (Ellerslie Racecourse)

Remuera, Auckland

Sat 28 - Sun 29 June 2014, 10am - 4pm DAILY An exhibition of the Best Products, Services, Travel and Seminars for Retirees, Baby Boomers, carers and their families!

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Travel and Tours Health and Nutrition Investment Technology and Trends Retirement Living Show Only Specials Destinations Cruising Home and Garden Coach and Rail Tours Hearing Specialists CAFÉ on Site!

Free Seminar program including: • Holiday Planning • Protecting Your Assets • Nutrition and Eating Well • Learning Technology • Investing Wisely

DAILY ENTRY PRICES Adults $12.00 Seniors $10.00 (With SuperGold Card) Children FREE Free Parking / Easy Access

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Paul Charman chooses his top six tear jerkers Some shun them but I’ve always found tear jerkers oddly compelling. It’s the cathartic buzz of shedding tears, something medical experts tell us can relieve stress, bring people closer together and even remove toxins from the body. In my view tear jerkers are chopped onions for the soul; an alcohol and drugfree method of freeing emotions.

Some who find it difficult to shed tears at the proper time (such as funerals) are quite capable of doing so with so with help from one of these. Popular “saddies” include Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (300 known versions); Eric Clapton’s Tears in Heaven and Robbie Williams’ Angels. But my short list recalls songs either lesser known, or which come with an interesting back story.

1

MUM, BY PRINCE TUI TEKA

The lyrics aren’t particularly deep and Tui Teka doesn’t have the best voice in the world. But the late great former Maori Volcanic had something else, a unique ability to deliver emotion. It will always remind the hearer of mum and personally I never get tired of it. With the possible exception of “Blue Smoke”, could there be more evocative Kiwi song.

2

SOMEDAY SOON,

BY IAN TYSON

A love song with a difference, focusing on ructions after the teenager daughter falls in with a rodeo hand “just out of the service and looking for his fun”. The parents cannot stand the young man, “driving in tonight from California”. The daughter has grown up and fallen in love with somebody just as wild as her father was “in the younger days”.

Only a few heartless characters out there won’t get this song — probably bracelet-wearing former finance company directors. Judy Collins does the best version, with Suzy Bogguss a close second.

3

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT, LOU HANDMAN – LYRICS BY ROY TURK

Try listening to this one (without tears) from a hospital bed; when in prison; following a divorce or after losing a loved-one.

The tune was written by an aspiring Jewish Vaudeville performer named Louis Handman, who as a young man visited New Zealand. In 1916 Handman and his buddy Jack Cook apparently stowed away on a German ship bound for Australia, and after being discovered they were arrested and interned as suspected German spies. The two “spies” were put ashore in Auckland, where they had to prove (presumably by performing) that they really were Vaudeville performers. Those experiences informed the smash hit Handman wrote 10 years later and Presley’s 1960 cover was only one of dozens.

ABOVE: The late, great Prince Tui Teka had a unique ability to deliver emotion as both a singer and instrumentalist.

4

LORD FRANKLIN, PENTANGLE VERSION

An old English sea ballad recalls the life and times of a former Governor of Tasmania, Sir John Franklin. In 1854, Franklin sailed away looking for the famed Northwest Passage, but neither he nor his men ever returned. The great explorer probably took a wrong turn in Baffin Bay, wrecking his two ships (Terror and Eerebus) and sending 128 men to their graves.

But deserved or not, John Renbourn’s tribute is superb. Renbourn’s whispering baritone — plus virtuosity on guitars and sitar — captures all the loneliness and heartbreak of that illstarred exploration.

5

IT’S AS IF HE KNOWS, ERIC BOGLE

This song is deeply disturbing and in my view only a few sociopaths out there won’t cry when they hear it. It’s a true story told to Bogle by an old digger from World War 1. The old soldier’s eyes filled with tears as he related the circumstances of the death of his horse “Banjo”. In Egypt, ahead of boarding ships bound for Australia, soldiers were ordered to the shoot horses who’d “carried them in and out of hell on their strong backs”. Each man said his goodbyes and then shot his mate’s horse.

6

LITTLE BOY LOST – JOHNNY ASHCROFT

In February 1960, 5000 people and seven aircraft searched across the rugged New England Ranges of New South Wales for four-year-old farm boy, Steven Walls. Ashcroft’s lyrics adeptly tell of finding Steven alive and well after four days. Despite the many covers, no artist has emulated the sincere delivery by Ashcroft, or the distinctive guitar sound created by George Golla on the original.

Surely even those who hate country ballads have to admit that this one is special.

After Steven was found alive, and while “Little Boy Lost” was still in the charts, Sydney schoolboy Graeme Thorne was kidnapped and found murdered. Out of respect for the bereaved family, Ashcroft had his song removed from Australian airplay.

Such unusual magnanimity and compassion surely deserves recognition, even today.

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TAKE A DIFFERENT LOOK AT TRAVEL The Black Sea, Gallipoli (for the ANZAC Centenary) the Greek Islands and the Croatian Coast are some of the highlights of this 21-night inaugural cruise from Istanbul to Venice onboard the French boutique cruise ship, Le Lyrial. This is a luxury journey with unique experiences only a viaggio lifestyle vacation can provide.

LEST WE FORGET ANZACIOO much more than a cruise.

BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO SAIL ON LE LYRIAL Viaggio guests will be the first to sail onboard Compagnie du Ponant’s newest ship Le Lyrial. The 21 night voyage from Istanbul to Venice is a private charter where you can experience Compagnie du Ponants unique style of cruising - much like being on board a private super yacht. A vacation with style...

CAPPADOCIA. unique in every way Before boarding Le Lyrial, join us in mystical Cappadocia for a five night viaggio experience staying at the exquisitely designed and furnished Museum Hotel.

Discover the region by visiting historical sites, viewing frescos in seldom open churches, tasting the cuisine and wine and enjoying a hot air balloon flight over wondrous landscapes. We are also creating a special “Ah” moment exclusively for our guests.

A day of remembrance, a once in a lifetime experience. Join us in honouring our brave soldiers who served in the Gallipoli campaign 100 years ago.

Our vessel will be off ANZAC Cove for the dawn of April 25, 2015, where you will experience the rising sun over the Gallipoli Peninsula. You will take part in our private dawn service onboard the ship, and spend the following day ashore visiting the important sites of the campaign.

Zadar, Krk, Opatija, Rovinj and Porec. Croatia and its rugged beautiful coastline, its mountains, its villages and islands will have something that appeals to every traveler.

FOR THE FOOD AND WINE LOVERS

DISCOVER THE BLACK SEA COAST The Black Sea Coast will delight your senses in every way. There’s the city of Trabzon with the Sumela Monastery and its beautiful frescos clinging to a mountainside with sheer drops to the cavern below.

Then it’s on to Safranbolu. The Unesco World Heritage Site defines the word charming with over 1000 Ottoman Houses and street markets filled with saffron outlets, old-style cobblers and shoe makers, tea shops, tapestries and glass blowers creating jewellry, vases and ornaments. The air is heady with the smell of traditional Turkish coffee and freshly baked flatbread.

As part of our visit to this city, viaggio guests will experience lunch served in the courtyard of the old caravanserai Cinci Hani, an imposing structure in the town centre which has been converted into a Boutique Hotel. Be sure to also visit the 17th Century Turkish Bath where the marble stones are, still to this day, heated by an open fire.

The blending of beautiful food and wine with a unique vacation is something that viaggio lifestyle vacations and Du Ponant are known for. On this cruise you can appreciate the French culinary arts at any time of the day: breakfast among friends with the backdrop of a centuries old sea-side village, followed by lunch in the sunshine on one of the yachts decks, and ending with a sumptuous dinner in the elegantly intimate surroundings of the gourmet restaurants.

Adding to this gourmet journey will be six gastronomic dinners matched with wines from Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and France - inspired by Chris Upton, Proprietor of the multi-award winning O’Connell Street Bistro in Auckland and created in conjunction with the Cuisine Team onboard Le Lyrial

THE VENICE SIMPLON ORIENT EXPRESS

CROATIA & MONTENEGRO REVEALED

Say the words Orient Express and evocative images float through your mind of glamorous passengers, Royalty, film stars, spies and opulent carriages taking you to thrilling and timeless destinations. Today, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express is still the most glamorous way to travel. Escape into a bygone era, but with all the vibrancy and zest of today.

On leaving Turkey we journey to the Greek Island of Delos and Mykonos, transiting the Corinth Canal and calling at Itea before continuing on to Kotor where guests will enjoy an overnight stay. From there we cruise the Croatia coastline calling into Dubrovnik, Hvar, Split,

We invite our guests to complete their viaggio vacation with an overnight journey to London or Paris on this majestic and historical train. With its faithfully restored original 1920’s and 1930’s carriages, this train truly recreates the golden age of travel.

for more details on this journey visit

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08

Helen Twose has some tips for empty nesters who want to simplify their lives

W

hen Terry Kayes and his wife Marianne looked around an apartment bordering the Auckland Domain his thoughts were: this would be good in 10 years’ time.

The pair had ventured out on cold and wet winter’s day more on a whim than anything.

Ten days later Kayes, 68, and his wife had bought it at auction and were preparing to move out of their family home, a five bedroom property, more than twice the size of their new apartment.

For 17 years their house had been home for their four children and Marianne’s mother, but with just the two of them left at home it was time to reassess.

Kayes says he’d had a general sense that maybe they would move at some stage “but Marianne, my wife, increasingly felt the burden of the upkeep and maintenance and cleaning of such a large house”.

Residential manager for Bayleys in Auckland, Rachel Dovey, says there are a number of important factors empty nesters needed to keep in

mind when considering downsizing.

“Firstly, establish your priorities.

“Who’s more important – you and your partner or your children and grandchildren? That will then help guide you on the process of identifying a location and type of dwelling,” says Dovey.

“Weigh up the whole point of downsizing. Do you really need to move?

“Are you doing it because the current dwelling you reside in is simply

authorised financial advisors spread across the country or you can find one using the list on the Financial Markets Authority website: www. fma.govt.nz “They will take you through a process which involves determining what are your lifestyle objectives in retirement, how much money will you actually need to live on and making that decision around downsizing the family home and how much addi-

“You want to do it while you’re in good health and the right space mentally. This might be the biggest financial upheaval in your life.”

– Shelley Hanna, financial advisor. bigger than you require or do you need to free up capital to enjoy the fruits of you retirement.”

Head of wealth and private bank at BNZ, Donna Nicolof, says she sees a number of clients facing the decision to downsize.

Her biggest piece of advice: plan ahead and get professional advice, preferably from an authorised financial advisor.

Nicolof heads up a team of 50

tional capital will you need to invest to help fund your lifestyle in retirement,” says Nicolof.

She says many people don’t realise how much money they need to set aside for retirement, particularly as improvements in healthcare see us living longer, and are faced with making compromises to their lifestyle when there is a money shortfall.

Ideally retirement planning should start in your forties, says

Nicolof, so it can take into account big life events such as paying for your children’s education, as well as any unexpected expenses.

“The last thing you really want to do is to be in a situation where you’re forced to sell the family home because you don’t have sufficient capital to fund your lifestyle in retirement,” she says.

“That’s a disaster and because it’s an emotional decision anyway you just don’t want to put yourself under that sort of pressure and added stress so I think, again, the earlier you start thinking about those things the better off you’re going to be.”

Shelley Hanna, a Hawke’s Bay-based authorised financial advisor, is regularly sitting down with clients planning a move from a bigger, longstanding family home to something smaller.

As well as mapping out her clients’ financial futures, she recommends her clients don’t leave it too late to move from the family home.

“You want to do it while you’re in good health and the right space mentally.

“This might be the biggest financial upheaval in your life.”

She says for those used to the chal-

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09

TOP TIPS

1

“Plan ahead and get professional financial advice.”

Donna Nicolof, BNZ head of wealth and private banking.

2

Take the effort and do your homework finding a financial advisor. “It can be a little challenging but I think it’s definitely an exercise that’s worth doing well because once you’re working with somebody if you start being uncomfortable it’s very awkward ending the relationship.” Shelley Hanna, authorised financial advisor.

LEFT: When downsizing it’s important to keep in mind what your lifestyle objectives will be.

lenges that working provided, selling down and moving to create a new lifestyle in retirement can also inject a bit of excitement into their lives.

Dovey from Bayleys says other things to consider when moving from the family home to a new address is your lifestyle – are you sporty or more sedentary? Do you have any health issues that make a single-storey home a better option or need you to be close to healthcare services?

“If you have several grandchildren

New hope for long term back pain sufferers Inversion Therapy is rapidly gaining a reputation for success with long-term sufferers of Back pain. Inversion New Zealand was started seven years ago by Dave and Nancy Hare, Dave had suffered over twenty years of back pain from Degenerated Discs and had basically given up and decided to just live with it. “To me surgery was never an option” he said “as long as I still could walk, there was hope”.

Dave tried everything; every time he was overseas he would search for anything that could possibly help. While on one of these overseas trips eight years ago, Dave discovered the Teeter Hang-Ups. “The first time I tried it, the pain disappeared and I was completely pain free for about 30 minutes, nothing had done that” he told me.

Dave never believed it would fix him, “as specialists had told me it was irreversible”, “I now knew I had a place to go every time I wanted some serious relief”.

To Dave’s surprise the more he used the table the longer the pain stayed away, until after nearly three months he was completely pain free, “I couldn’t believe it’ he told me “I had spent large amounts of money on every form of treatment available and here was something I had never heard of sorting it out for me in a very short period of time” It was then Dave decided to introduce Teeter into New Zealand and Inversion NZ was born.

Over the years INZ have helped thousands of people

get some serious relief and have seen results in not only backs, but necks, hips, knees, posture, circulation, increased height, blood pressure and lots more. “We have testimonials from people with over fifty years of back problems and even have them in a number of schools in New Zealand for their special needs children” he told me, “the blood to the brain helps these kids and the results are excellent” What this means for the aging population is that it maintains the health of the brain as we all get older.

INZ now have a division putting them into Industry as Back Pain costs companies a considerable amount of lost production.

Both Dave and Nancy will be attending the show, Dave told me that he realised that, had he not tried the Teeter for himself he would still be suffering, “I would still be a miserable grumpy bugger, living with pain”, “that is why we do the shows, people need to try it for themselves”, “we let the tables do the talking” he told me.

Come along to the Auckland Retirement & Lifestyle Expo at Ellerslie event centre, Greenlane on the 28th and 29th June this weekend for a treatment, if you have completely resigned yourself to having Back Pain for the rest of your life, the chances are you will be pleasantly surprised.

If you suffer from Back or Neck Pain then come along to our stand 46 at the Auckland Retirement Lifestyle & Travel Expo on the 28th - 29th June at the Ellerslie Event Centre, Greenlane.

In 2006, a three and a half year medical study using the Teeter Hang-Ups was completed in the Regional Neuroscience Centre at Newcastle General Hospital. It was conducted by one of the UK’s leading Neurosurgeons and authorities on back care and it was found that Inversion Therapy reduced the need for spinal surgery for Sciatica by 77% compared to 22% with traditional methods of treatment.

We will set the table to the relaxing angle of 20 degrees, which gently relieves the pressure on your spine and leaves you feeling relaxed and rejuvenated.

After nearly seven years in NZ there are now enough people using the Teeter Hang-Ups to dispel the last of any doubts that these really do work if you suffer from Back or Neck Pain or simply just want to age healthily, bring this ad along for a free 10 minute treatment.

“I promise that you will be pleasantly surprised!”

Inversion NZ Ltd 0800 62 62 83 | www.inversionnz.co.nz

3

“Somebody said ‘make this move while it’s a project, before you have to do it’ and that seemed to be a really wise thing.” Terry Kayes, downsizer.

4

Once you’ve made the decision, don’t procrastinate. “Just get on with it. That way when you’ve moved and resettled you can once again focus on the things in life which are really important.” Rachel Dovey, residential manager for Bayleys in Auckland.

will you need multiple guest bedrooms to potentially accommodate them all simultaneously?

“And are they the types of kids who like running around with grass under their feet or would they cope with being in an apartment setting?”

Dovey says empty-nesters who were actively looking at new locations to live should look closely at the characteristics of their prospective new neighbours, with an eye to assessing how they would fit in to the locality.

For the Kayes’ it was a move just around the corner from the Newmarket engineering firm Terry works at so the neighbourhood was familiar territory.

The big questions were around whether they were able to take their elderly dog with them and whether

the neighbours would be disturbed by his opera singing pastime.

Neither were a problem, but the same couldn’t be said for reducing a lifetime of worldly possessions to fit into a smaller apartment, a process Terry says was “hard yakka”.

After a garage sale, trips to the Salvation Army, sales on Trade Me and some off-loading to the children he says the de-cluttering process was liberating.

Moving in to their new place early last year seemed like going on holiday, he says.

“It felt like we were in a motel. It was really great getting to know a new area. We can walk to the movies and there is a farmers market just along the road in Parnell.

“So a lot of old habits went out the door and new ones have been formed.”

They bought their new home for around half what their old place sold for so were able to free up some cash.

“Mentally that’s been quite an interesting thing to suddenly feel like we don’t have to account for everything; we actually have the cash to do some of the things we choose to do.”

Even though they are happy and settled in their new home there is still potentially another chapter.

Marianne is looking at property listings again, with an eye to finding a vacant section to build a small ecostyle townhouse.

“We still think where we are is perfect for ten years’ time but maybe there’s something in life before that.”

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10

A Scotland and Ireland of dreams Ewan McDonald passes the night in some of the British Isles’ more unique hotels

S

nigger. Laugh out loud, but I believe in ghosts.

Have to: that night-long conversation with my Dad two days after he died; the redcoat sergeant who turned on radios and lights in the wee small hours, shoulder-tapped people when they passed him on the stairs in my house in Hamilton. And then there was the night that …

Alistair, my Scottish guide, and I pitched up at our hotel just outside Inverness. We’d come from Neolithic tombs two roundabouts down the road, making small talk about 3500-year-old peoples and customs and graves that no one had figured out the real stories of. He parked the car and I took the suitcases inside. We agreed to meet in the house bar in 20 minutes for a dram.

Went upstairs to my room. Thick brass key, four-poster bed, floral quilt and fireplace. Looked at my watch.

Just time to catch up with a friend back home, a brag email where I was staying that night. Culloden House, ancestral home of the Forbes, now a boutique hotel. The name is etched in history: Prince Charles Edward Stuart used it as his headquarters during the 1745 Jacobite Rising. He spent the night here, with clan chiefs who knew they were sending themselves and their people to be massacred next day, ordered by this halfScots, half-Polish dilettante.

I laughed to my friend, “If a wee French-speaking chap in satin kneebreeches and purple plaid drops in for a conversation tonight, I’m outta here.”

“NO!” she emailed back from Auckland. “You must engage with him. Talk to him. You will never have this opportunity again.”

Fair point. If your name is McDonald, however it’s spelt, you do have a 270-year-old bone to pick with the man who would become known as Bonnie Prince Charlie. This, I reflected from the suds of a decently appointed bath, might be the time and place to set matters straight.

I went downstairs to the bar, joined Alistair in a more than acceptable single-malt and a Michelin-star dinner. Veal and salmon were beyond exquisite. So were the wines.

Except that … from the moment of that 21st Century satellite exchange with my friend, every electronic device I possessed – phone, iPad, Kobo (that’s quite enough information) – died. Turned up their amperes. Until six days later, when I left Scotland. Whereupon they suddenly recovered their composures.

Snigger. Laugh out loud … www.cullodenhouse.co.uk THE LADY of the House – to those of you of egalitarian sympathies, apologies, but there is no other way to describe her – summoned a liveried chap to take my Warehouse suitcase from the estate-car to my suite. Top of the stairs, next to Queen Victoria’s chamber.

Inverlochy Castle Hotel has a distinguished clientele; it is one of those places where Jefferson Davis, Oscar

ABOVE: The front yard of Inverlochy Castle Hotel - the Scottish Highlands.

Photo: Ewan McDonald

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Wilde, Tom Hanks and the like come for quiet weekends away from the hoipolloi. It is a genuine castle: there is another one down the road, several centuries or more ancient, but that fell victim to raiding miscreants and the landlords erected this rather more gentrified pile 150 or so years ago.

Dinnertime at what is modestly described as Scotland’s finest luxury hotel and restaurant. The curlicued notepaper in my suite suggested, ever so politely, that it would be appropriate to advise Chef of my preferences 30 minutes before I ventured downstairs, that gentlemen should wear a jacket and tie, and that cellphones are … well, rather common appli-

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ances that well-bred folk disdain.

Discretion is the byword: like the TV, hidden inside a leather pictureframe, and the laptop, built into a possibly original Louis XVI dressing table and which I never did find.

It’s rather Upstairs Downstairs. I sit in pinstripe suit with dress shirt and clan tartan tie, which I am not entirely sure I am entitled to wear in these or any other circumstances, in what can only be described as regal splendour. There is no one else in this dining room where the Old Queen, and Elton John, dined, on furniture given by one or another of the kings of Norway. Three bowtied gentlemen arrange my cutlery, glassware, defer

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to my faux-informed wine choices, and serve pheasant and venison with all the trimmings. Twilight fades into dusk into dark over the manicured gardens, the private salmon fishing loch, the exclusive trout river, the huntin’ and shootin’ forest.

“Perhaps Sir would like to finish the evening with a Drambuie?” Bed is only a staircase away, so Sir would.

On the way upstairs I challenge and lose to myself at the billiard table.

Now, which is my room? Of course.

I’m McDonald. Someone with a mischievous sense of humour has assigned me – and if you’re not a Scot you can Google it – the Glencoe suite. www.inverlochycastlehotel.com

11

THE NATIONAL sport of Glasgow is … aha, fooled you. You were about to say fitba’ and Rangers and Celtic, weren’t ye, Jemmy? Up here in the financial district it’s not. Nor rugby.

It’s money, and nowhere is the tradition better honoured than in Blythswood Square, where they have been converting spices and tobacco and any other tradable commodity into pounds sterling for the past several centuries. Trust me on this: that’s how at least three of my eight greatgrandparents found their way from the Broomielaw docks just down the riverbank to Australia.

Glasgow is was and forever shall be a merchant city, a trading place that became the second most important city in the Empire Upon Which The Sun Never Set because of linen and coffee and stuff that could be hammered into ships or railways or bridges.

The gracious building where I’m dining now was a tobacco merchant’s townhouse, this entire city block, in the 18th century; in 1910 the buildings were remodelled to become the gentlemen’s club of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, which would later reconfigure itself as the Automobile Association. Gentlemen and players only, of course; ladies were chromosomically disempowered by the AA. Or disembodied.

In the 1950s it was one of six starting points for the uber-chic Monte Carlo Rally. Snow, ice, chaps in leather coats and moustaches with names

like Stirling Moss driving MGs and Jaguars and possibly Bentleys to the South of France. Hell for leather, or more likely leather for hell.

The bedrooms are black wooden floors and deep woollen blankets. In the doom-dark marble bathroom I lie in the bath and think of the merchant who built this mansion and my five times great-grandfather around the corner, the clerk tallying up the profits in his office who might have been able to bathe once a month. I think of my privileged life and toast both of them. www.townhousecompany.com/ blythswoodsquare

THEY have brought us the long way around. To get to the hotel where our group of journalists is to stay tonight, we have travelled across the sweet, green, misty, melancholic, evocative, provocative coast of the North of Ireland.

We find a castle, or rather the ruins of one. Dunluce. Sitting, falling, drifting, dropping into the sea, where McDonald earls ruled, looking across the straits to the lands where their brothers and cousins commanded as far as their isles could see. To here.

They call it the sweet rain, the soft rain of Ireland. Despite the thermal vest, twill shirt, wool jumper, parka and scarf, today is neither sweet nor soft. Back on the coach. On to the Giant’s Causeway, a magical and

1 2 3 4

Culloden House

Blythswood Square Hotel

Inverlochy Castle Hotel Causeway Hotel

mystical place in a land of magical and mystical places.

In 1693 when Sir Richard Bulkeley informed the world about the natural curiosity on Ireland’s northern coast, a strange arrangement or disarrangement of rocks that natural historians could not explain. The myths, legends and fables expanded to fill the space that the science of the day could not.

By 1836, the tales had attracted enough visitors to support building a railway to the Causeway Hotel, two clicks down the lane from the village of Bushmills, which has long produced a drop that might have inspired its unfair share of the local folklore. In 1986 the Giant’s Causeway became a World Heritage site, recognising at least 2000 years of the Irish ability to spill a good yarn.

Which is where we came in.

Myths and legends and romance and rumours and ghosts: what might be true or just a good story. www.thecausewayhotel.com – Ewan McDonald travelled with visitscotland.com, Tourism Ireland and Emirates Airlines.

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With people feeling healthier and fitter as they head into their 50s and 60s, Baby Boomers are having another crack at their roaring 20s by drawing up bucket lists. By Steve Hart

J

ust like the 2007 Bucket List comedy film featuring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, the 50-pluses are spending their kid’s inheritance by travelling to far flung destinations and throwing caution to the wind – doing things such as swimming with sharks, skydiving and bungee jumping.

A website has even been set up to help people with cash to spend, and time on their hands, to select a range of adrenaline fixes to get their blood pumping again. Among the ‘most liked’ items on BucketList.org are going on an African Safari, whitewater rafting, and playing tennis on the highest court in the world (it’s on top of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai).

Gary Gilmour and his wife Judy, members of the Grownups.co.nz community, completed the first half of their bucket list, travelling to the UK in the 1990s. Their trip was interrupted by family illness, and so will restart next year.

However, they didn’t do too badly

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on their first crack at The Big OE after Gary was made redundant in 1991 – they ended up working for world-famous thriller writer Frederick Forsyth at his expansive home in Hertfordshire, England.

“We were sitting at home in Tauranga, both children had left, and Judy and I looked at each other wondering what we should do now,” says Gary, 67.

“We decided we’d like to work in a stately home, so headed to London.

The money quickly ran out, and we started looking for work.”

Turned away by potential employers because they had no experience working as a housekeeper or butler, the couple were eventually sent by a job agency to an address in Hertfordshire.

“We were interviewed and asked to wait,” said Gary. “Eventually a man came out and asked if we wanted the job – it was author Frederick Forsyth.”

Gary and Judy started the following week. Judy as housekeeper, and Gary was Frederick’s chauffer and handyman, tending to three acres of grounds within the estate.

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“Frederick was writing the book Icon while we were there,” says Gary.

“He worked out he could write a novel in 55 days, and during those 55 days he could never be disturbed – of course the work done during those 55 days was based on two years’ research.”

The couple spent two-and-a-half years working for Frederick, and during their free time got to travel across Europe – from France to Russia.

Gary’s grandfather was born in Scotland, and so they made their way there to work for 18 months at a castle in Dalwhinnie. But in 1998 Judy’s father became ill, and the couple returned to New Zealand.

Right now Gary is working as a temporary bus driver, and relocates rented cars and motorhomes from the North Island to the South Island.

But next year the couple are off to the Shetlands for part two of their Big OE. They plan to visit Gretna

Green where Gary and Judy will renew their wedding vows.

Jemma Wilson, a director of travel firm Keystone Journeys, says her bucket list clients typically want to travel to places that are not on the main tourist radar – with places such Iran, and off-track locations in India, Tibet and Central Asia among the favourites.

“The over-50s who come to us want to go to places that are not too well known by the mass market,” says Jemma. “They want to see and experience something different, I think they want to be inspired again.

“Iran is a big destination – and you can ignore what you see on TV news.

It is a wonderful place, there is no lawlessness there, that is a perception that is absolutely incorrect. Not one of my clients who travelled there last year said they felt unsafe.

And in one location it was 10 days

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ABOVE: Alan Clarke of Kerikeri is a keen glider. His bucket list plans include going to the Oshkosh air show in the US, and retracing his travels of 35 years ago in a campervan around Europe. Photo: supplied

ABOVE: Among the ‘most liked’ items on Bucklist.org is going on an African Safari.

before we spotted another tourist.”

Other locations on people’s bucket list, says Jemma, include The Silk Road, Shri Lanka, Africa and South America.

“These aren’t holidays as such, but places people can have a bit of an adventure,” says Jemma. “These are people who are not yet ready for the European river cruise or bus tour, but aren’t sprightly enough to travel

as a backpacker. The trick is to have adventure during the day, and comfort in the evening.

“These people are not ready to stop and they know there’s a big world still to discover, they want excitement.”

Among those who have written down their bucket list is commercial pilot turned financial advisor Alan Clarke of Kerikeri.

His list includes things such as doing more stand-up paddle boarding, to keep flying his motor glider until he is 90 (his father lived to be 100), go to the Oshkosh air show in the US, and retrace his travels of 35 years ago in a campervan around Europe.

Closer to home he wants to visit the Mackenzie Country, and go gold prospecting on the West Coast.

“I used to be a top dressing pilot but saw too many people killed, so 25 years ago moved to being a financial advisor,” says Alan, who has also written two books offering financial advice.

The 67-year-old says most people will have a bucket list in their head, but believes it is good to write it down, keep the goals realistic, and actively plan to do them.

“My wife is 55, and I feel like a 59-year-old,” he says. “The trick is to stay active, help people, and not to put your slippers on.”

Next year he’ll be off to Chicago, and will do a two-month round trip that will include Slovenia and the UK. Alan says: “People’s bucket lists have to be realistic so you can physically do it, and to have the finances too. There’s no point putting impossible stuff on the list, because you’ll never get to do it – you don’t want a list of pie in the sky dreams.”

On the web: bucketlist.org Grownups.co.nz – Steve Hart is a freelance reporter and podcaster at SteveHart.co.nz

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Maintaining a regular fitness routine as you age is vital for your health and lifestyle writes Leigh Bramwell

‘D

id you know’, asked one website I visited recently, ‘that the most popular forms of physical activity for those over 65 are walking (60 per cent), gardening (54.2 per cent), and doing exercise at home (9.8 per cent).’

Well, I do all of those things (if you count playing ball with the dog as ‘exercise at home’) but I’m pretty sure I could still benefit from increased strength and fitness.

And I’m not alone. Statistics show activity levels decline steadily with age, and by their mid-50s few people take regular exercise.

So I’m going to beat the odds. The problem is, where did I put my motivation, and when I find it, where shall I start?

The Ministry of Health recommends we do 30 minutes of moderate activity, most days of the week. And how do you figure out what is moderate? Easy. New Zealand guidelines define moderate-intensity activity as an thing causing a slight but noticeable increase in breathing and heart rate. (Seeing a hottie at the gym doesn’t count.)

If it’s several years since you did 30 minutes of exercise in one hit, start

slowly and build up over a period of weeks. Happily, if you weren’t particularly fit to start with, you don’t need to a do a lot of work to achieve a big rise in fitness levels.

Start with walking. It’s great because you already know how to do it, you don’t need a lot of expensive, lycra clothes, and you can do it by yourself. The last point is important because a study carried out by Leeds University in the UK found that one of the biggest hurdles for the over 50s starting a fitness programme was embarrassment.

CORE STRENGTH Core strength suffers when you get old and lazy. If you’ve been squatting down and you have to use your hands to push yourself up, or (and this is an embarrassing one) you grunt when you drag yourself out of the car, it’s off to Pilates for you.

Pilates is a conditioning routine designed to build flexibility, muscle strength, and endurance in the legs, abdominals, arms, hips and back. It puts emphasis on spinal and pelvic alignment, breathing, developing a strong core, and improving coordination and balance. The draw card for me is that it seems to work without making you puff or sweat. My kind of exercise.

“Start with walking.

It’s great because you already know how to do it and you can do it by yourself.”

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exercising for 30 minutes four or five times a week.

You can’t afford to exercise for a few years and then give up when you hit, say 70. Natural, age-related bone-density loss – osteoporosis – is a major causes of broken bones among people in their 70s so the fitter and more flexible you are, the better.

Experts say the focus at this point should be on weight-bearing exercise without risking joint or bone damage. Playing bowls and walking will strengthen your cardiovascular system and boost your vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. If you’re a multi-tasker, join a walking club and you can exercise and chat at the same time.

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HEART AND LUNG STRENGTH Building and maintaining lung and heart strength through aerobic exercise that is low impact on joints is also important for those over 50.

Those odd people you may have seen striding around the streets with the aid of ski poles have got it right: it’s called Nordic walking – propelling yourself while walking with poles – it’s easy on the joints and is said to use 90 per cent of the body’s muscles while providing good support.

Swimming, walking, badminton and bowls are other good choices, and you could add resistance sessions such as slow, controlled pressups on your knees. Increase the length of your workout until you’re

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EVERYDAY FIT TIPS Despite the health benefits of exercise statistics show activity levels decline steadily with age, and by their mid-50s few take regular exercise.

• If you’re in the habit of having long phone conversations, pace briskly while talking.

• Walk or bike some of the way to work once a week. Or take time in the weekend to explore local bike tracks.

GETTING STARTED Building more movement into your everyday life is a great way to fool yourself that you’re not exercising when you actually are. Try these tricks to keep yourself mobile.

• Start off by walking for 20 to 30 minutes, 4 days a week at a comfortable pace • Begin alternating 2 to 5 minutes of brisk walking with 2 to 5 minutes of easy walking, gradually increasing the ratio of brisk to easy.

• Take the stairs, not the lift. If your office is on the sixth floor, start with one flight, and increase it till you can go the whole way without arriving hot, red faced and sweating.

• When you feel ready, add in some interval training. For example, when you’re out walking, increase your pace for 30 seconds, and then return to your regular pace. Do this every 5 minutes until you’ve completed five 30-second bursts. Fitness trainers reckon that as the weeks go by, you may find yourself wanting to jog during that 30-second interval. Yeah right.

• If walking to work is not practical, walk for 15 minutes before work.

That’s only seven minutes each way, and you’ll arrive feeling more alert.

Do the same after work before you even go in the house. That adds up to 30 minutes walking in one day. Easy.

• Break the habit of a lifetime and park as far away from your office as you can instead of in the park closest to the door.

• Exercise your tongue. Walk to the

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• Clean your house, garage or shed vigorously. Do it to music to keep the pace up.

• Dance. Put on some music, grab your partner and spend half an hour dancing. It’ll improve your fitness and your relationship.

• If it’s raining and you don’t want to wolk in the rain, go to a mall or walk under verandahs in the city streets.

You can window shop as you go – but not too much: you need to keep the pace up.

• Commit to your exercise regime for a specific length of time. Promise yourself to keep it up for three months, and then assess progress.

By that time, you’ll be seeing improvements and enjoying better health and fitness.

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SPCA Auckland Animal Village, 50 Westney Road, Mangere OPEN 10am - 4pm, 7 DAYS

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DO YOU HAVE CATARACTS? Auckland Eye are the premier ophthalmology providers in Auckland and New Zealand Not only are they the biggest single group, offering all subspecialty treatment, but they have the most sophisticated stand alone day surgery centre.

Oasis Surgical was opened in 2011 and is the largest facility of its kind in New Zealand and the third largest in Australasia. Auckland Eye was also the first eye centre in Australasia to install ground-breaking LensAR laser cataract technology as well as being awarded their Centre of Excellence status for Australia and New Zealand.

This makes Auckland Eye and Oasis a preferred provider of Cataract Surgery in Auckland.

What is a cataract? A cataract is a progressive cloudiness that develops inside the lens of the eye. As it develops, your eyesight becomes more and more blurry and colours lose their brightness and driving at night can become problematic.

Cataract surgery is a safe, fairly quick procedure where the cloudy lens is replaced with a new artificial lens (IOL) to allow clear eyesight. These lenses have evolved over the years and

now there are many IOL’s to choose from. Depending on your visual and lifestyle requirements, the Auckland Eye specialists can recommend the type of lens best suited to you.

The advent of laser cataract surgery has revolutionised surgery, as it means the incisions required to remove the lens are now done with a laser. The system uses a unique 3D-Imaging measurement and guidance system that allows customised treatment which means precise, accurate surgery and reliable outcomes.

“Auckland Eye realise that not every patient with cataracts can meet the criteria of the DHB waiting lists” says Moira McInerney, Auckland Eye General Manager. “Many of our patients prefer the individualised service of private carers such as ourselves. Therefore we try to make this treatment more accessible to patients through finance options and by being an affiliated provider to Southern Cross Health Society.”

Auckland Eye’s experts offer a full range of eye care services including

ivision LASIK, the very best laser vision correction you can choose; cosmetic eyelid surgery; assessment and treatment of glaucoma, macular degeneration, flashes and floaters and children’s eye problems. All surgeries are performed at their stateof-the-art complex, Oasis Surgical, the largest purpose built ophthalmic day-stay facility in New Zealand.

Auckland Eye and Oasis Surgical are the only combined private eye practice and surgical centre in Auckland accredited by the DAA group for quality of patient care, which speaks well of their commitment to high quality patient care. They are centrally located in Remuera with easy motorway access, plenty of parking and wheelchair access. Auckland Eye also has clinics in Albany and New

ABOVE: Auckland Eye was the first eye centre in Australasia to install groundbreaking LensAR laser cataract technology.

Lynn as well as providing appointments at a wide range of other locations across Auckland.

In a further commitment to the eye care of Auckland in the future, Auckland Eye has been involved in international research trials for over a decade with some of the investigative products trialled going on to be used in clinical practice worldwide. This year a number of clinical trials are underway looking at new lenses for cataract surgery and treatments for dry eye and macular degeneration.

For more information on any of the above, please refer to our website www.aucklandeye.co.nz or call us on 0800 255 393 or email admin@aucklandeye.co.nz – Supplied editorial

C H O O S E T H E E Y E S U R G E RY E X P E R T S See your life change with personalised cataract surgery from Auckland Eye. The very best standard of eye care you can choose.

Improve your sight and regain your independence.

Highly skilled professional surgeons.

Pain-free cataract surgery in just 30 minutes.

The very latest laser cataract technology.

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8 St Marks Road, Remuera, Auckland

NORTH SHORE Greenwich Gardens unsworth heights The Poynton takapuna The Orchards glenfield

KERIKERI Oakridge Villas kerikeri

RED BEACH CENTRAL AUCKLAND

Hibiscus Coast Village red beach

7 Saint Vincent remuera Hillsborough Heights Village mount roskill

WEST AUCKLAND Pinesong titirangi Crestwood new lynn Powley blockhouse bay Waitakere Gardens henderson

BAY OF PLENTY The Avenues tauranga Bayswater mt maunganui Greenwood Park tauranga Somervale mt maunganui Papamoa Beach Village papamoa

EAST AUCKLAND Highlands highland park Pakuranga Village pakuranga Dannemora Gardens botany downs

HAMILTON Forest Lake Gardens te rapa

SOUTH AUCKLAND Longford Park Village takanini

LOWER NORTH ISLAND Palmerston North Village palmerston north

KAPITI COAST

Wairarapa Village masterton

Coastal Villas paraparaumu Kapiti Village paraparaumu

25 unique villages, all with superb locations.

Metlifecare offers exceptional retirement living in 25 villages around the North Island. Each one unique and reflecting the local communities they call home, while striving to provide the very finest independent retirement living, as well as extra assistance for those who need day-to-day support.

To find out how you can enjoy a wonderful new lifestyle amongst a friendly village community, simply request a FREE information pack for the village near you.

RHM6973

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE IT

REQUEST AN INFORMATION PACK Call 0800 909 303 or go to www.metlifecare.co.nz/info-pack

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HOW THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED

Remember the retirement villages from 30 or 40 years ago? Thankfully, they are now a thing of the past!

T

hese days you are more likely to find active communities living in modern open plan homes, with first class facilities at their doorstep and around the clock support from caring, professional staff. Metlifecare has been at the forefront of this retirement revolution since 1984.

Today, the company has high quality retirement villages across the North Island from Kerikeri in the north all the way down to Paraparaumu.

One of the keys to Metlifecare’s success has been their choice of perfect village locations. The company has always understood that residents hold a connection to their local communities and they want to stay in touch with the friends, clubs and

other groups they spend time with.

It’s one reason why most Metlifecare villages are close to every day amenities like shops, local services and the leisure activities of a particular suburb or town. Which makes it easy for residents to stay part of the communities they know and love.

Inside each Metlifecare village, the focus is on providing an environment where residents can make the most of each and every day. Being independent is a big part of this, in fact, when you live in a Metlifecare village you can come and go, just as you would in your own home. This is because it is your own home!

Friends and family can visit anytime and stay overnight. You can fill your home with your treasured belongings. On top of that, Metlif-

ecare provide a supportive environment that takes a lot of worries away and puts precious time back in residents’ hands.

Day-to-day chores such as mowing lawns, cleaning gutters, exterior painting and general household maintenance are handled by staff. Which leaves residents with the time and energy to enjoy the things they love.

Metlifecare also have a selection of living options designed to suit an individual’s personal requirements.

While options do vary from village to village, they include independent villa or apartment options. Serviced apartments are ideal for residents who are struggling with life at home and require a higher level of day-today support. Plus a number of Metlifecare villages are able to offer resi-

ABOVE: Day-to-day chores are handled by staff, leaving residents time to do things they enjoy

dents a full continuum of care with care facilities on-site.

The icing on the cake for Metlifecare residents is the social side of village living. In many cases, residents who lived at home felt isolated, but in the village their social network instantly grows. Residents are surrounded by friendly neighbours who look out for each other and have lots of fun together.

Take Metlifecare’s great locations, modern living and wonderful staff and you have a recipe for exceptional retirement living that’s light years ahead of the villages past. If you’d like to know more about retirement living at one Metlifecare’s 25 villages, please call 0800 909 303 or visit www.metlifecare.co.nz – Supplied editorial

Midlife Madness Cruises & Tours Hassle-free group travel with Robyn & John Cooney Are you a fun-loving, young-at-heart MIDLIFER who is keen to travel?

We are old hands at this business, and our fully-escorted group tours are double-the-fun which is why out customers join us again and again.

If you are in your middle years or retired and if you are active, mobile and keen to go adventuring with like minded Kiwis then you will fit in just fine.

Why don’t you join us?

For detailed information contact: 0800 277 477 – roger.glynan@lionworld.co.nz – www.skytrainlionworld.co.nz

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Simplicity at a difficult timE Kiwi families reflect a myriad of cultures, traditions and income levels, so funeral-wise the passing of a loved-one is likely to involve varying requirements Simplicity Funerals offers caring, professional service, whatever a bereaved family’s background and current financial situation.

A nationwide brand, Simplicity Funerals operates three locations in Auckland – Royal Oak, New Lynn and Grey Lynn, all of which cover the whole of Auckland and they offer 24 hour service every day of the year.

Simplicity Funerals staff can help to free a grieving family from the potentially worrisome financial and logistical details involved in a funeral.

At one end of the scale a funeral may be a grand occasion, one comprising a gathering of hundreds of people with catering, video production and even musicians. If there is a religious service, it may reflect any of the major world religions now practiced in Auckland.

However, equally as valid is the fact that a funeral may bypass the concept of a service entirely. Perhaps

there will simply be a brief viewing – perhaps just a cremation.

Whatever the requirements, Simplicity Funerals staff are excellent listeners, encouraging the family concerned to make their own decisions.

When dealing with family members, staff keep a sensitive eye on such issues as resources, cultural and religious needs.

“We have a vast amount of experience in dealing with Auckland families from every possible background and walk of life, but even so we don’t pretend to have all the answers,” says Simplicity Funerals regional manager Brian Stott.

“Speaking personally, though I’ve been in this industry for 40 years, I still feel as if I’m learning every day.

“It’s clear, however, many a bereaved family faces a financial burden. Everyone wants a dignified and respectful funeral for their loved-one, but we realised a long

time ago that they also require freedom to make their own choices when it comes to amount of money they will spend on a funeral.

“We are there to follow the family’s instructions on such things as flowers, newspaper notices, cemetery or cremation fees, catering and so forth. If resources are a concern, we’ll assist in communicating with agencies such as Work and Income who may provide a funeral grant, based on their level of assets and income.

Simplicity Funerals offers four basic pricing plans and each one of these can be adapted to individual needs. They provide a free no-obligation estimate and can also talk

No matter your race, religion or lifestyle, at Simplicity Funerals we believe wholeheartedly that a funeral should be fitting and meaningful - while remaining affordable.

The team at Simplicity Funerals are expert funeral planners who offer a full range of pricing plans which we can tailor to your individual needs.

ABOVE: Simplicity Funerals have a vast amount of experience dealing with Auckland families from every possible background and walk of life.

to you about pre-planning and prepaying the funeral.

Monumental Showrooms at each Simplicity Funerals location have memorials to inspect, with staff on hand to hear your requirements and if need be advise. The staff can assist you to choose a lasting memorial for your loved one and this will be as personal as you want it to be.

Simplicity Funerals have a nation wide free call number – 0800 222 155 and their website www.simplicityfunerals.net.nz is full of important information as well as pricing plans. Call them for a free information pack or to make a time to sit down and talk with them.

– Paul Charman

Call us for a free, no obligation Funeral Planning Pack including information on FDANZ pre-paid funerals.

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CLASSIC BUILDERS WIN BRANZ AWARD

New development committed to quality and workmanship The new 154 unit retirement village being developed on Hobsonville Point by Manor Group Investments and Classic Builders recently got underway with the completion of the first villa which will be used as a show home.

“It is exciting to be involved in the development of the new housing area at Hobsonville Point,” says chief executive of Manor Group, Adam Yates. “Because the whole area is a well thought out suburb in a superb location it will be a magnet for people from all over West Auckland. We’re glad that we can be part of that with our first village in Auckland.”

Waterford on Hobsonville Point is planned to be a ‘village within a village.’ Hobsonville Point is the village and Waterford will be community developed at the heart of it.

Manor Group is proud of the style of village that is being created. The focus of the village is personal service and the creation of an exciting and caring communal atmosphere. ‘”How you treat people from the beginning of the process is the most important part of developing a village,” says Adam. “We’re not into mass marketing. Each potential resident gets as much of our time as they need to become comfortable with the decision to buy into the village. We

Artist’s impression

make appointments with each person and take them through the whole process because we like our residents to get to know us as the relationship will be an enduring one.”

All the building work is undertaken by Classic Builders who are not only one of the largest home builders in the country but were independently voted New Zealand’s best large builder for customer satisfaction.

This award is not a surprise to Manor Group. Classic have been involved in the development of sev-

eral villages throughout the country including all of Manor Group’s Bay of Plenty and Hamilton developments. ‘We choose them to do all our construction work because we have never been disappointed with their workmanship and commitment.

Build quality is an important component of the success of the village and we know we can rely on them.’

Waterford on Hobsonville Point can be found on Buckley Rd, Hobsonville Point, directly across the road from the Catalina Café.

ABOVE: Construction on the first stage has begun and the show home is available for viewing by appointment.

Independent industry research company, BRANZ, recently awarded Classic Builders Limited, its prestigious award for customer satisfaction.

BRANZ gathered information from almost 650 new house owners during 2013 who were asked to rate a range of factors including their builders’ workmanship and willingness to address any issues.

Classic Builders was singled out for its excellent after-sales service and high levels of customer satisfaction.

“All our customers, including Manor Group, place a lot of trust in us when they choose to build with us,” says Classic Builders director Peter Cooney. “The least we can do is look after them every step of the way.”

Representative of the view from unit 36

Discover Your Future with the Release of Waterford on Hobsonville…

Paradise - Just a moment away Remember when living in a community had a more “village feel?” You knew your neighbours by name, and stopped to say hello and chat. We are proud to announce the first villas on stage one of Waterford on Hobsonville Point, an exciting residential development specifically designed for retirement living in a relaxed and warm community.

We understand that retirement living is very personal, and at the core of Waterford on Hobsonville is that personal touch. Everything here is about you, so why not contact our Resident Coordinator Joan Vujcich to arrange a face-to-face chat about the many Waterford options available to suit your lifestyle and budget. With architecturally designed villas and apartments starting at just $485,000, many units have already been sold - call today to secure your new home.

Waterford welcomes you to join us in building this new community

2 Bedroom

3 Bedroom

On Hobsonville Point Contact Joan Vujcich 09 213 7333 Waterford on Hobsonville Point Buckley Rd, Hobsonville Point

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Do you wish your working days were over? I know I did. Now that I’m retired I think of the good times and the not so good times I’ve had After forty years in business I can now enjoy the grand days of retirement, but I am always looking for ways to return something to the people. At this period in our lives, we can give time, advice (if anyone will take it) and a helping hand. As owner of SlipOn Swimsuits (and approaching eighty years old), I am still involved in a company that helps people.

SlipOn Swimsuits all started outside of an aquatic Parkinson’s class, when a husband said to me, ‘’I have to wait 30 minutes for my wife to get changed out of her bathing suit.” It dawned on me how difficult it must be for impaired ladies to put on and take off their swimsuits.

So I designed the SlipOn Swimsuit which is easy to slip on and off, taking the struggle out of pool exercise.

Another product we have also focuses on helping improve the quality of life, and that is the SO Secure Containment Brief. These help suffers of incontinence get back in the pool without worrying about

Trouble sleeping? NZ Respiratory & Sleep Institute may be able to help

SlipOn Swimsuits are easy to slip on and off, taking the struggle out of pool exercise. embarrassing accidents. They are ideal for any age, and can be worn in or out of the pool.

Every one of us can help someone.

If anyone you know can benefit from a SlipOn product call 0800 754 766 or visit www.sliponswimsuits.com.

– Supplied editorial

Clinical trials are critical to the development of new medicines and medical devices. They investigate new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease. Treatments might be new drugs or new combinations of drugs, new surgical procedures or devices, or new ways to use existing treatments. The goal of clinical trials is to determine if a new test or treatment works and is safe.

Here at the NZ Respiratory & Sleep Institute we undertake trials with patient volunteers to investigate treatments for breathing disorders such as asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), and bronchiectasis, and sleep disorders such as snoring and sleep apnoea.

Patient volunteers are those with a known health problem who participate in research that is designed to better under-

stand, diagnose, treat, or cure that disease or condition. These procedures may or may not benefit individual study participants.

A lot of these studies have very strict inclusion and exclusion criteria so not everyone is guaranteed a place on the trial.

You do however get a good medical checkup in the process, and it costs you nothing at all! In fact, if you are placed into a trial, we recompense your travel costs.

NZRSI works fully in accordance with ICH Good Clinical Practice (GCP), which is an international ethical and scientific quality standard for the conduct of trials.

We are always very happy to hear from people who want to find out more so please don’t hesitate to call us.

Phone (09) 638 5255 ext 212. Email research@nzrsi.health.nz. www.nzrsi. health.nz – Supplied editorial

NZ Respiratory & Sleep Institute NZ Respiratory and Sleep Institute are a private specialist medical practice providing respiratory and sleep clinical consultation, lung function testing and sleep testing as well as undertaking clinical research.

Interested in Clinical Research?

Specialist Consulting includes

We are looking for participants to volunteer for clinical research who have one of the following conditions: • COPD • Bronchiectasis • Asthma

• Respiratory disorders: chronic cough, asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, shortness of breath and emphysema

For more information contact: Carol Veale on (09) 638 5255

• Sleep disorders: snoring, sleep apnoea and insomnia • Respiratory physiotherapy • Sleep dentist

NZRSI Ascot Office Park, Level 3, Building B, 93-95 Ascot Avenue, Greenlane East, Auckland Ph. (09) 638 5255 I Fax. (09) 638 6022 I E. info@nzrsi.health.nz

www.nzrsi.health.nz

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Helping customers when it really matters

Vaughan Underwood CEO, Heartland Home Equity Loan New Zealand operated, controlled and managed; Heartland Bank has roots stretching back to 1875 and a proud history of helping New Zealanders to succeed. We’re proud to help our customers when it really matters, breaking the mould of what banks traditionally offer, recognising the individual needs and developing products designed to help people do more.

In New Zealand, a high number of 65s and over (around 82%) own their own home, which is a great achievement. Yet the same age group have an average income of just over $20,000*. Whilst this can be enough

to get by, for many it doesn’t cover the unexpected expenses such as car bills, or taking a trip to visit family.

The Heartland Home Equity Loan can enable them to do these things with independence and dignity.

The Heartland Home Equity Loan is similar to a regular mortgage but is specifically designed for people aged 65 and over. It gives them the chance to use their most valued asset, their home, to finance an independent, comfortable, dignified retirement and works by allowing them to release some of the equity, or cash, tied up in their home without giving up ownership, and without the requirement to make regular repayments.

To help you figure out if a Heartland Home Equity Loan is right for you, we’ve developed a handy online calculator that does the sums for you. Simply visit www.heartland. co.nz input your age and value of your home and the calculator will do the rest for you.

We’re Heartland Bank, New Zealand’s specialist bank.

Vaughan Underwood CEO, Heartland Home Equity Loan – Supplied editorial

Welcome to the familY

Enjoy home cooking, company and a safe environment at St Patricks Home and Hospital If the time has come when you or a family member need to move into a cared environment, you will want to be secure in the knowledge that the people who care for your loved one have your complete trust.

At St Patricks Home and Hospital the owners Meg and William are on site every day ensuring its smooth running.

The manager Joan and assistant manager Enecia are qualified and have been with us for many years. They take great care of our residents and take pride in their work.

We know how important good food and a safe environment are to your loved one.

Home cooking including scones and cakes are enjoyed every day in our well established home. St Patricks is set in a safe quiet no exit street in the heart of Epsom.

Those who are able to, enjoy drives to

cafes, concerts and community activities.

They also enjoy in house entertainment organised by our activities coordinator, along with visiting musicians and entertainers.

At St Patricks Home and Hospital your loved family member will become part of our family of forty eight. We are small enough for personal service and large enough for high quality medical care. As part of our wish to improve the quality of life of our residents we are currently in the process of installing more ensuite showers to upgrade hospital rooms.

We are also in the process of building seven new hospital "smart" rooms, some of which are suitable for couples. And we are enlarging our entertainment, dining and service areas. These improvements will be completed in August.

– Supplied editorial

Quality Care for the Elderly Are you aged 65 or over?

Do you own your own home?

Do you want the financial freedom and independence to spend your retirement how you choose?

If this sounds like you, then you should talk to us. A Heartland Home Equity Loan works by allowing you to borrow against the equity in your home, without having to make repayments until you leave or sell your property.*

Studio units Double rooms Single rooms Beautiful park-like gardens in a safe no-exit street Excellent food and activities

24/7

Registered Nursing

St Patrick’s Home & Hospital

*Lending criteria, fees and charges apply. For further information please contact us on 0800 867 645.

For a brochure you can either call us on 0800 867 645, visit www.heartland.co.nz, or simply fill in your details below and post to us at: Heartland Bank, P.O Box 331040, Takapuna 0740.

Title Address Phone number

Rest home to hospital-level care

New hospital ‘smart’ rooms available in August

0800 867 645 www.heartland.co.nz

New Zealand owner operated

Name

3 Wilding Avenue, Epsom Call us on: (09) 638 8258 or 022 011 2101 Email: saintpatricks@xtra.co.nz

www.stpatrickshome.co.nz Post code BUFFALO/HB5209PLUS

TO ENTER VISIT: nzherald.co.nz /ultimatetest between Saturday, June 7 and Sunday, June 22, 2014.

EVERY DAY THERE’S A NEW QUESTION AND ANOTHER CHANCE TO WIN. TEST EVERYTHING BEFORE RUGBY WORLD CUP. In the lead up to RWC2015 we have a 20-day trip for two to the UK to watch the All Blacks play England, Scotland and Wales on the End of Year Tour this November. The winner and their travel companion will get to test the stadiums, accommodation and atmosphere before RWC2015 while enjoying the All Blacks take on each of the three sides. The package includes: Premium Economy flights, accommodation, an All Blacks Tours experience, tickets to the three test matches, transfers, a personalised All Blacks jersey and £1,000 spending money.

For full terms and conditions go to nzherald.co.nz/ultimatetest

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